


snapshots of time

by ljubavi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst Free, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, a week in the life of markhyuck, college sweethearts, domestic bfs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ljubavi/pseuds/ljubavi
Summary: Donghyuck laughs, the sound bubbling up inside of him before he can stop it. “You’re just as cheesy as you were in college.”“But for what it’s worth,” Donghyuck spins Mark this time, slowly and gently, “I love you, too. I always have.”
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 12
Kudos: 121





	snapshots of time

**Author's Note:**

> nothing to see here except for ~2k worth of markhyuck word vomit! also i havent written markhyuck fic in so long idk what ncto3 reads anymore but this is what ur getting

Donghyuck can’t bring himself to move. Truth be told, Saturday’s meant to be for days like these, when it’s too hot to go anywhere and they can’t seem to get out of bed.

“Your hands are soft,” Mark comments absentmindedly. “Makes me wish mine weren’t so calloused from playing the guitar.”

Donghyuck traces the bumps and ridges of Mark’s hand, until he’s gently drawing circles into his palm. “I’m willing to look past that, in case you were wondering.”

“Oh, are you?” Mark asks, looking over at Donghyuck. He’s laying down, wearing a shirt he stole from Donghyuck with his hair pushed away from his face from the fan blowing air into the room, and Donghyuck can’t stop staring. Neither can Mark.

Donghyuck shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant. It’s hard, mostly because Mark is smiling at him and he can’t help himself. “I’m trying to be more generous.”

Mark laughs again, because he finds absolutely everything hilarious for reasons Donghyuck doesn’t get. He should be used to it by now.

“Well, I guess I’m very lucky to be with you, then,” Mark says, a little more serious now. He twists their hands together, placing them on top of his chest. 

Donghyuck smiles. “I guess you could say that.”

—

“Sunday’s are for being lazy,” Donghyuck points out, leaning back against the top of their dryer.

Mark drops the laundry hamper onto the ground, looking over at him with an air of exasperation. “We _always_ do laundry on Sundays. You know that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Donghyuck waves a hand, “That was _before_ the heat wave. I’m a different person now.”

Mark stands with one hand on his hip, but he’s smiling. “Yeah. You’ve changed _so_ much.”

Donghyuck nods vigorously as Mark opens the washing machine, throwing clothes inside with practiced ease.

“I don’t even know you anymore,” Mark continues, reaching for the detergent. “Who are you, again? And how exactly did you get into my apartment?”

Donghyuck smiles. “Real funny, Mark.”

The laundry machine whirs to life. “You should get off so I can take out the load from the dryer.”

Donghyuck swings his legs back and forth, pretending to contemplate his answer.

“Getting off means folding and putting it all away,” Donghyuck points out. “Which is the opposite of being lazy.”

Mark presses closer, stumbling over the laundry hamper. Donghyuck snickers, but holds out his hands for Mark to grab hold of regardless. Mark stands between his legs, their hands entwined.

“We can stay in bed after we do all the laundry?” Mark tries.

Donghyuck pulls Mark closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Mark grumbles something, but there’s a faint blush on his cheeks when he pulls away.

“You will _not_ get out of laundry day by doing that,” Mark insists, letting go of his hands. 

“It was worth a shot,” Donghyuck admits, hopping off the top of the dryer. “I’ll grab the load out of the machine.”

Mark grins as the door is pulled open by him. “I knew you would give in eventually.”

Donghyuck chucks the clothes towards Mark without even looking back. He knows he made it when Mark yelps behind him.

—

“You know,” Donghyuck starts, holding his popsicle in one hand, “maybe we should do this more often. Our A/C is miserable compared to the grocery store.”

(Monday’s are for grocery shopping, when they both get off of work late in the evening and try to plan dinner together).

Mark laughs over the din of the grocery store. “If we had the money, we could. Unless you just wanna go to fuck around until we get kicked out, like the high school kids do.”

Donghyuck ponders it. “See, the thing about high school kids is that they have curfews; we _don’t._ So, like, theoretically, we could fuck around at like midnight when it’s too hot to sleep. Take full advantage of the A/C or whatever.”

Mark looks over at him, shaking his head. “You’re serious? I was just messing around. Aren’t we too old for that?”

“Never,” Donghyuck declares. He remembers the melting popsicle in his hand, and hurries to eat the rest of it before it gets worse.

Mark comes to a stop in the middle of the aisle, the wheels of their shopping cart squeaking incessantly. Donghyuck cringes at the sound, but he stops too.

“Everything is so expensive,” Mark mutters. He glances back at Donghyuck. “How are we supposed to buy anything?”

“Buy off-brand,” Donghyuck answers lightly, staring at their barren cart. “Eat frozen meals for a week.”

Mark frowns. “We already buy off-brand.”

“Lets buy one of those giant packs of noodles and live off of it for a few weeks to save money,” Donghyuck suggests, waving his popsicle at the shelves holding various packs of noodles.

Mark seems to think about it for a moment. “I think we could do it. It’ll be like the old days.”

—

“What’s the plan for date night?” Donghyuck asks, settling down next to Mark on the couch.

“I’m exhausted,” Mark admits. “12 hour shifts will be the death of me. I’m sorry; I know Tuesday’s are supposed to be for us.”

Donghyuck nods over the stuttering _whir_ of their fan. “Wanna put on a movie that we probably won’t watch because we’ll fall asleep halfway through?”

Mark smiles, reaching to wrap an arm around him from where they’re seated next to each other on the couch. “Yeah. That sounds really good, Donghyuck.”

It turns out that Mark doesn’t make it halfway through the movie. He falls asleep before Donghyuck can even press _play,_ slumping down against Donghyuck’s shoulder, so he turns down the volume and settles into the couch.

It takes quite the bit of effort, but he reaches the blanket on the other end of the couch, yanking it towards him so he can cover Mark. The heat wave has started to dwindle ever so slightly, giving back their cool nights and fresh air. Donghyuck is grateful.

He gently places the blanket so Mark doesn’t wake up. Donghyuck doesn’t need fancy dates. He’s okay with spending Tuesday’s on the couch, falling asleep by Mark’s side after a long day at work.

—

Wednesday’s are the days their schedules overlap, when they can’t seem to _click_ into place the way they normally do.

Donghyuck wakes up to an empty bed and a pot of lukewarm coffee left in the kitchen, the only sign that Mark was there earlier.

A closer look at the pot reveals a sticky note stuck to it, with Mark’s handwriting scrawled across it.

_I made it too early, so it’ll probably be cold when you wake up_ — _It’s the thought that counts, right?_

Donghyuck smiles. He’s okay with lukewarm coffee. He’s okay with an empty apartment and a long day at work, because it means that he gets to come home to Mark. Mark, who will most likely be asleep by the time he comes back, tired and bones aching, but will still wake up to press closer to Donghyuck and ask how his day was.

He’s okay with Wednesday’s, with the quiet that comes with them. Donghyuck is okay, as long as Mark stays by his side.

When he comes home that night, Mark blinks sleepily, stirring to life when he slips under the covers.

“How was your day?” Mark asks, stifling a yawn. He presses closer to him, throwing his leg over Donghyuck’s.

Donghyuck pulls the covers tighter over him, trying to get comfortable. “Exhausting. I missed you.”

Mark reaches out to cup Donghyuck’s cheek, smiling sleepily. “Me too. The apartment is quiet without you around. No singing or anything. It’s so weird.”

“That’s how I felt this morning,” Donghyuck whispers, trying to hold back his laughter. “Especially when I drank the lukewarm coffee you left for me. I really appreciated that, by the way. The note was an added bonus.”

“Even though it was—” Mark stifles another yawn, “—lukewarm?”

“It’s the thought that counts, right?” Donghyuck says, but Mark’s already drifting back to sleep. 

—

Thursday’s are for Donghyuck to cook dinner. He’s gotten better ever since they first started trading off meals and the time he started a fire, but he still worries about something going wrong.

Mark sits at the kitchen table, nursing a wine glass and fatigue.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Mark repeats.

Donghyuck shakes his head. “I got this.”

“O-kay.” Mark sounds entirely unconvinced, but he leans back in his chair. The sound of his fingers tapping against the wine glass drown out the soft music playing in the background, but Donghyuck is too preoccupied to notice.

“You know my expectations aren’t high, right?” The chair lets out an annoying _screech_ when Mark gets up. “I’ve been eating cafeteria food from the hospital all week. As long as it isn’t mysteriously mushy, I’ll love it.”

Mark comes to a stop behind him, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck. He leans his head against Donghyuck’s shoulder, smiling.

“This is nice enough as it is,” Mark admits. “Work gets so hectic sometimes, and all I really need at the end of the day is you to decompress.”

Donghyuck smiles, leaning back into Mark’s touch, placing his hand over Mark’s own. It feels right, to be here with him. Donghyuck wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.

“Yeah?” Donghyuck asks, trying not to sound too hopeful. “You really mean that?”

Mark is swaying now, moving Donghyuck along with him. They stand, in the middle of their tiny kitchen, half-dancing and half-holding each other over the sound of some cheesy love song Mark is always listening to.

It’s nice. Donghyuck can’t remember the last time he felt so relaxed.

“Dinner can wait,” Mark murmurs, “Let’s dance. Together.”

Donghyuck hesitates, but Mark is already reaching out a hand to turn the stove off.

“C’mon, Donghyuck. Let's pretend we aren’t adults for a second. We’re just a couple trying to get their lives together after college or something along those lines. Dancing is still romantic and we don’t worry about bills or taxes.”

Donghyuck’s resolve crumbles, and he turns to wrap his arms around Mark’s neck.

“To be young again,” He sighs. “We really didn’t have a care in the world, did we?”

Mark shakes his head, disbelieving as they reminisce. “We wanted to be old so bad. Remember?”

He spins Donghyuck around, before pulling him close again. The glass of wine is nowhere to be seen now, but Donghyuck doesn’t say anything.

“Who were we back then? Being old is a sham,” Donghyuck responds. Mark smiles at him, a beam of light in Donghyuck’s world. 

“I don’t know,” He answers honestly, “Maybe that was the hopes and dreams speaking.”

Donghyuck shakes his head. “I can’t believe how much has changed since then.”

“There’s one thing that hasn’t,” Mark says softly. They’re swaying side by side now, two halves of one whole. He can’t even hear the music anymore, but they don’t need it. 

“And what would that be?” Donghyuck asks. He pulls away from Mark to _really_ look at him.

“I still love you,” Mark responds. 

Donghyuck laughs, the sound bubbling up inside of him before he can stop it. “You’re just as cheesy as you were in college.”

“But for what it’s worth,” Donghyuck spins Mark this time, slowly and gently, “I love you, too. I always have.”

—

Mark holds the guitar in his lap, looking sheepish.

“What? Not a fan of having an audience?” Donghyuck asks, smiling. The park isn’t _that_ full, but Mark has a bit of a shy streak, and he knows this is out of his comfort zone.

“To be fair, your idea was really good in _theory_ ,” Mark admits. “Maybe not in practice.”

Donghyuck smiles. “True. I didn’t think there would be any people here, actually. We can just relax instead of doing this.”

“Nah.” Mark starts strumming. “Worrying about other people is overrated. I miss hearing your voice. I’ve worked way too much this week. I’m Donghyuck-deprived.”

Donghyuck still blushes, even after all the time they’ve known each other. Mark has that effect on him; he always has.

So they sit on their picnic blanket in the middle of the park, Mark with his guitar and Donghyuck singing along, content to be with each other. Like the other night, everything fades away, melts into the static background with every passing second until it’s just the two of them, together.

Donghyuck doesn’t care about sounding good. They’re together, and that’s what’s most important to him.

Eventually, Donghyuck ends up with his head in Mark’s lap later that same day, looking up at the sky. Mark’s guitar is somewhere off to the side as he plays with Donghyuck’s hair.

“This is nice,” Donghyuck comments. “Should this be a weekly thing? I know we usually have our Fridays set as like, free days since we’re both off, but maybe we should start doing this.”

Mark smiles down at him. “I’m cool with that. I can teach you some more guitar chords too.”

Donghyuck holds up his hands. “We’ll both have calloused hands then.”

“I’m cool with that too,” Mark repeats. “Not everyone can be perfect, after all.”

Donghyuck laughs. “Well, I think you’re perfect, Mark Lee. Nothing will ever change that.”


End file.
